Paul Chappell: Thoughts for American Christians in This Election

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Here in the United States, we are quickly approaching Election Day. Even now, over thirty states, including California where I live, have opened early voting.

Religious liberty and the freedom to select our leaders is, historically speaking, an amazing, unprecedented privilege. And American Christians have the unique opportunity to engage in the processes that can help preserve these freedoms.

I have long believed that American Christians have a patriotic duty to engage in the election process by voting, and I believe they have a moral duty to cast that vote, as best as they can, according to biblical issues.

Over the years, I have consistently cast my vote through a grid of three biblical issues:

• The sanctity of life (Jeremiah 1:5)
• The biblical family (Genesis 1:27, 2:24; Ephesians 5:22–25)
• Support for Israel (Genesis 12:3)

I have rarely had the opportunity to vote for someone who thoroughly aligned with all of these beliefs. But I do my best to select based on who most closely stands to biblical positions on these issues.

This upcoming election has been particularly challenging for many Christians, and some have asked my thoughts on voting when no candidate for a given office aligns with Scripture on these important areas. Here are several thoughts that I hope bring clarity. I share these considerations with you to be applied as principles for every level of elected office.

1. Neither party is “righteous,” but the Democratic Party has publicly and forcefully denied biblical values.

There is no question that the Republican Party has recently weakened its positions in order to attract a broader coalition (a decision that I believe is tragic and will ultimately prove unhelpful). However, of the two parties, I think it is still easy to see which party welcomes biblical Christians and which requires them to check Bible-based beliefs at the door.

Perhaps you have seen the video from last week of a Harris-Walz rally in which two students shouted “Jesus is Lord” and “Christ is King.” Kamala Harris immediately responded, “I think you’re at the wrong rally.”[1]

This is not an isolated incident. The Democratic Party has made it abundantly known that they are against what God is for (the sanctity of life, created genders, biblical family) and are for what God is against (taking the lives of the unborn, mutilating children’s bodies, pushing an aggressive LGBTQ agenda).

The reality of these sad statements has been repeatedly proven by the Democratic Party and specifically by Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in recent months. For instance, consider the following:

• Planned Parenthood vans were welcomed to provide abortions outside the Democratic National Convention.^[2]
• Harris is opposed to any restrictions on abortion, and recently stated that when Congress passes a bill to federally legalize abortion, “as president of the United States, I will proudly, proudly sign it into law.”^[3] As a senator, she voted against a bill that would ban abortions after twenty weeks of pregnancy.^[4]
• Walz supported a bill in Minnesota that legalizes denying life-saving medical care to infants born alive after botched abortions.^[5]
• Harris has publicly stated support for taxpayer-funded “gender transition” surgeries for prisoners and illegal immigrants (a position she is trying to distance herself from during this election cycle).^[6]
• Harris supports sex-change surgeries for minors, seen, for example, when the Biden-Harris Department of Justice urged the Supreme Court to take up the case of a Tennessee law that bans gender transition for minors.^[7]
• Harris supports biological men playing against biological women in athletics.^[8]

And this is just the beginning. I think it is incredibly naive to know these facts and still choose to hope that a Harris-Walz administration would do anything other than open the floodgates to full-term abortion, sex-change surgeries for minors, loss of parental rights for families whose children are confused on LGBTQ issues, and a significant weakening of religious liberty.

2. The government’s primary job is to restrain evil, and that should be our primary consideration in selecting leaders.

Romans 13 admonishes Christians to obey the civil government because rulers are “…the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil” (verse 4).

God has ordained government to restrain evil. In civil elections, we vote for policymakers, not spiritual leaders.

Granted, it would be ideal for government leaders to be moral, godly persons. And there was a day in America in which that was at least more the case than it is now. Our second president, John Adams, even said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Of course, not all of our presidents—or other leaders—have been moral or religious people. And the overall weakening of morals in our nation is reflected in the current candidates.

However, when it comes to the voting booth, we vote for policymakers, not spiritual leaders. And, given the biblical role for government, I believe an important question we can ask is, “Who will best retrain evil and maintain conditions likely for righteousness to flourish?”

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Given the biblical role for government, I believe an important question to ask when voting is, “Who will best retrain evil and maintain conditions likely for righteousness to flourish?”
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3. Religious liberty is a gift that should be protected.

As mentioned a moment ago, we enjoy a level of religious liberty unknown in human history. This gift has been purchased by men and women who have given their lives to buy and preserve this freedom. We have a sacred duty to protect the freedoms that have been handed down to us.

With these considerations in mind, another question we could ask when voting would be, “Who will best preserve religious liberty and a context in which the gospel and churches can flourish?”

I don’t think it will be the candidate who told Christians they were at the wrong rally. Nor do I think it will be the candidate who has aggressively tried to silence those who oppose abortion. (As the Attorney General of California, when an independent journalist documented Planned Parenthood selling organs and body parts of aborted babies, rather than opening an investigation into Planned Parenthood, Kamala went after the journalist—sending agents to raid his home.)^[9]

4. Christians should vote.

A recent Barna study predicts that 41 million self-professed born-again Christians are expected to not vote in this election.^[10] I would never advise a Christian to go against their conscience—in a vote or any other matter. And if your conscience does not allow you to vote for Donald Trump, that is a matter of Christian liberty.

But I would encourage you to do two things:

First, still participate in the election. Every single congress member is up for reelection this year. Many States are electing senators. Several states have incredibly significant items on the ballot, such as Amendment 4 in Florida. Undoubtedly, you have local issues on the ballot for your county as well. So, please, do not abstain from voting.

Second, I would ask you to look at the broader picture, including the points raised in this post, and reconsider what a vote means.

A vote is a choice between available options, not necessarily a statement that you like either option. In truth, every election is a choice between the “lesser of two evils.”

A vote is not a personal endorsement of everything a particular candidate is or stands for. It is merely a decision that, given the options presented, you prefer that candidate to the other.

While it may be easier to abstain from an election because we don’t like the options, consider the effect this has on our children and grandchildren. I completely believe that we should trust God with the outcome of an election (we’ll come back to this thought). But that trust does not absolve me of my responsibility to participate in the election, any more than trusting God with the outcome of an attempted robbery of my home would absolve me of my responsibility to protect my family while it was taking place.

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We should trust God with the outcome of every election, but that trust does not absolve us of the responsibility to participate in the election.
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5. As Christians, our primary occupation should be sharing the gospel.

Patriotic duties (including voting) are significant. It is God who established nations (Genesis 10:32, Acts 17:26–27), and it is right to seek to preserve all that is good in one’s nation.

But our greatest passion as Christians should be the Great Commandment: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37). And our greatest endeavor should be obeying the Great Commission: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20). Incidentally, obeying the Great Commission also allows us to obey the Second Commandment—to love our neighbors by telling them about Christ.

So yes, vote. Yes, inform yourself on policies, positions, and candidates. But at the end of the day, don’t lose your focus as a Christian.

To put it another way: It is essential to me that my neighbors know I am a Christian, that I pray for them, and that I share the gospel with them. It’s fine, but not essential to me, if they know who I am voting for this election.

6. We are commanded to pray for whichever leaders are elected.

The most important thing we can do is to pray—for our country and for our leaders. First Timothy 2:1–2 specifically instructs, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

I have prayed nearly every day for President Biden, as I did for President Trump before him and for President Obama before him. Regardless of who is elected this November, I will continue to pray for our president.

7. We will trust the Lord regardless of the outcome.

Like the Old Testament saints mentioned in Hebrews 11:13, we are “strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” American Christians have the incredible privilege of being citizens of the freest nation in history on the face of this earth. But as long as we are on this earth, we’re still strangers. You might say that we have dual citizenship—American and Heavenly.

As earthly citizens, it is our duty to engage in the betterment of our nation. As heavenly citizens, it is our duty to live with our affections and anticipation focused above. “For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city” (Hebrews 11:14–16).

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As earthly citizens, it is our duty to engage in the betterment of our nation. As heavenly citizens, it is our duty to live with our affections and anticipation focused above.
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If my hope were in the United States of America, I would today be miserable indeed. But my hope is not in this country or in any other. My hope is in Jesus, and He is not up for election. God remains sovereign today, tomorrow, and always. “But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased” (Psalm 115:3).

Political movements come and go, nations rise and fall, but God remains on the throne.

So, yes, pray and vote. But keep your trust in the Lord.

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Endnotes

^[1] Taylor Penley, “Pro-Life Protesters Speak Out after Allegedly Being Mocked, Pushed at Harris Rally: ‘We Did God’s Work,’” Fox News, October 24, 2023, https://www.foxnews.com/media/pro-life-protesters-speak-out-after-allegedly-being-mocked-pushed-harris-rally-we-did-gods-work.

^[2] Samuel Chamberlain, “Planned Parenthood Offers Free Vasectomies, Abortions in Truck Outside DNC,” New York Post, August 19, 2024, https://nypost.com/2024/08/19/us-news/planned-parenthood-offers-free-vasectomies-abortions-in-truck-outside-dnc/.

^[3] Taylor Penley, “Pro-Life Protesters Speak Out after Allegedly Being Mocked, Pushed at Harris Rally: ‘We Did God’s Work,’” Fox News, October 24, 2023, https://www.foxnews.com/media/pro-life-protesters-speak-out-after-allegedly-being-mocked-pushed-harris-rally-we-did-gods-work.

^[4] Madeleine Carlisle, “Kamala Harris’ Views on Abortion, Economy, Immigration, and Israel-Gaza,” Time, August 2024, https://time.com/7001208/kamala-harris-views-abortion-economy-immigration-israel-gaza/.

^[5] “Minnesota Legislature Repeals Protection for Born-Alive Infants, Support for Pregnant Women,” Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, August 2024, https://www.mccl.org/post/minnesota-legislature-repeals-protection-for-born-alive-infants-support-for-pregnant-women.

^[6] Andrew Kaczynski, “KFile: Harris told ACLU in 2019 she supports cuts to ICE funding and providing gender transition surgery to detained migrants,” CNN, September 9, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/09/politics/kfile-harris-pledged-support-in-2019-to-cut-ice-funding-and-provide-transgender-surgery-to-detained-migrants/index.html.

^[7] Sam Levin, “Biden Administration Supports Transgender Surgeries for Minors,” The Guardian, July 17, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/17/biden-administration-transgender-surgeries-minors.

^[8] “Cardona v. State of Tennessee,” Alliance Defending Freedom, August 2024, https://adfmedia.org/case/cardona-v-state-tennessee.

^[9] David Siders, “Anti-Abortion Groups Demand Kamala Harris Resign Over David Daleiden Investigation,” Politico, April 2016, https://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/anti-abortion-groups-kamala-harris-resign-david-daleiden-221681.

^[10] Jorge Gomez, “Are People of Faith Actually Voting?” First Liberty Institute, October 18, 2024, https://firstliberty.org/news/are-people-of-faith-actually-voting/.

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